Gold prices have gained about $60/ounce, about 3.6%. Silver prices are up roughly 9%. Copper prices are up by about 8.6%. Titanium prices are unchanged, steel prices have been drifting though more varieties appear to be selling at lower prices, and rare earth minerals vary widely depending on the particular mineral. Lanthanum oxides are selling for about $61/kilogram, while terbium oxide goes for $605/kilogram.

All stock data comes from Yahoo! Finance and current prices were gathered in the early afternoon today.

Of the companies we survey, all but one enjoys a higher stock price today than they did last month. The single exception is Molycorp, which is getting punished today for missing both EPS and revenue estimates. At yesterday’s closing price of $38.70, Molycorp’s share price was higher than it was a month ago.

More interesting, perhaps, were recent changes in median price targets. Only Nucor and Titanium’s price targets have remained the same in the last month. Two stocks, Newmont and Barrick, had their price targets raised and the other seven had price targets lowered.

Newmont’s target price was raised from $77 to $81. At the new target price and a current price of $70.41, Newmont’s implied gain is $10.59, or 15%. The stock put up a new 52-week high last week, and its forward P/E also rose from 10.2 to 11.47. In the past month, shares have gained more than $7, or 11%. The company’s pledge to raise dividends if gold price targets are met is another reason to look carefully at this stock.

Barrick’s target price was raised from $66.50 to $68. At the new target price and a current price of $52.61, Barrick’s implied gain is $15.39, or 29%. Shares are trading at less than 6% away from the 52-week high of $55.95. Over the past month, Barrick’s shares have gained 12%.

The largest drop in target price was settled on Molycorp, which saw its target price fall from $80- to $70. Even at that, the implied gain for the shares, based on today’s price of $34.04, is 106%. The wide gap is due not so much to any failure on Molycorp’s part but to what might be “irrational exuberance” for the stock by investors. There is also the fact that Molycorp’s mineral reserves tend to be heavy on the lower-priced rare earths and light on the higher-priced metals.

The largest percentage drop in target price was claimed by US Steel, which saw its target price fall from $40 to $34.50, nearly 14%. The company posted a new 52-week low on October 3rd. At the current price of $26.08, the implied gain is $8.42, or 32%. US Steel is widely expected to be acquired — and fairly soon — which is attracting short sellers in droves.

Freeport-McMoran’s target price fell from $55 to $53 in the past month, even though shares have added $5.05, or about 15%, in the same period. The implied gain based on the new target price and the current price of $39.83 is 33%. Freeport’s problem is that demand for copper might be stagnating or worse, given the construction slowdown in China.

Silver Wheaton’s target price fell from $51.50 to $49.50, while the share price has gained 17%. At the new target price and based on today’s price of $36.18, the implied gain here is 37%. There is plenty of headroom for Silver Wheaton’s share price to continue rising, but demand for silver will be the driver.

Alcoa’s target price dropped from $15.50 to $13 in the last month, even as the share price has risen by about 8%. At the new target price and based on the current price of $10.58, the implied gain in Alcoa stock is nearly 23%. Given that shares rose by 8% in the last month, anything’s possible, even that Alcoa may hit the lower target.

The target price for Steel Dynamics fell from $18 to $16, while share prices gained a substantial 23% in the same period. At the new target price and a current price of $13.51, the implied gain in the stock is 18%. EPS estimates for the current quarter have fallen by nearly -20% in the past month, following lowered guidance from the company.

Southern Copper’s target price fell from from $36.75 to $36.25 in the past month, even though the share price rose by 21%. At the new target and at the current price of $32.41, the implied gain for Southern Copper is nearly 12%.

Paul Ausick

This weeks top analyst calls were in the following stocks: Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU); Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU); Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE); Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX);Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT); Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM); and Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC)

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) was previously the high-flying network and communications equipment stock of the year, but then it went to being the most butchered stock of all of its peers.  We wonder if this downgrade last week that took the price target to $2.35 as the rating was cut to Underperform at Jefferies may have been the last bit of bad news to get out of the way.  Jefferies doesn’t seem to think so.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is one of the companies which we had listed as being one to outperform Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) over the next year if the analysts were anywhere close to accurate on their price targets.  Needless to say, it was a bit surprising to see that the rating was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs when it seems as though China is seeing a soft landing rather than a hard landing.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is out of bankruptcy and is still sort of considered the laggard of the cable TV sector.  Not to Credit Suisse.  The firm initiated coverage with a rating of “Outperform” and it gave a $60.00 price target.  That would get the stock only within $1.00 of its post-reorganization high and the consensus price target from Thomson Reuters appears to be above $66 on this one.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is becoming the whipping boy of Wall Street.  Despite shares falling almost each and every week, its rating was cut last Monday to Hold from But by the research team at S&P Capital IQ.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) caught a corporate credit rating upgrade on Friday from Standard & Poor’s that takes Ford to one-notch under investment grade.  The rating rose from “BB-” to “BB+” and that brings Ford closer and closer to being comfortable enough to resuming its quarterly dividend payments.  Ford rose 4.7% on the news.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) may have finally found a level where the stock value equals the upside.  The specialty steel player was Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo on Wednesday as shares were down more than 30% from the yearly high.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) rose well over 25% on Friday due to the woes of rival Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) due to Thailand floods hurting production.  Seagate was raised to Outperform at Baird and also raised to Buy at ThinkEquity on Friday ahead of the continued move higher.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is acting as though it wants to break out to the upside on the chart and go above the $55 ‘chart peak” to challenge $60.00 again.  Coincidentally, last Wednesday it was named as the Growth & Income Stock of the Day by Zacks investment research.  Maybe this time really is different.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) is just about always an expensive stock and buying it on pullbacks has generally been a gift.  One analyst thinks it is not so expensive, or at least thinks that the organic and high-end grocery destination is heading higher still.  Shares were raised to Buy at Jefferies and the price target is $90.00 per share.  That is $15 above the consensus price target.

Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) is the jeweler that needs all the help it can get and it is far less actively covered than say Tiffany. Last week shares were raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch as the company has a new CFO and as the bank expects a turnaround to continue.  Shares were under $3.00 early in the week and closed at $3.71 on Friday.

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Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised target to $30 from $28 at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Hold at Canaccord.
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Neutral at Lazard.
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Steven Madden, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) named Growth & Income stock of the day at Zacks.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) has a median target price of $40.00 from 14 brokers. Shares are trading today at $23.52, for an implied gain of $16.48, or 41.2%. US Steel’s forward P/E is 6.46 and the company’s dividend yield is 0.90%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.85-$64.03, and at today’s price that’s about 25% above its 52-week low and 63% below the 52-week high. The huge difference between US Steel’s 52-week high and its current price indicates a substantial opportunity here, if the company can get its act together. It owns its own sources of iron ore and coke, so it is relatively insulated from the higher costs faced by many other steel makers. The company should be doing better than this, but it’s a tough market out there.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) has a median target price of $45.00 from 13 brokers. Shares traded today at $34.85, for an implied gain of $10.15, or 22.6%. Nucor’s forward P/E is 10.34 and the company’s dividend yield is 4.20%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $29.82-$49.24, and at today’s price that’s about 17% above the 52-week low and 29% below the 52-week high. Nucor stock recently took a hit when the company lowered third-quarter EPS estimates to $0.45-$0.55 compared with analysts’ expectation of $0.64. Demand for raw materials raises costs for Nucor, at the same time that demand in the US has fallen.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) has a median target price of $18.00 from 13 brokers. Shares traded today at $10.95, for an implied gain of $7.05, or 39.2%. Steel Dynamics’ forward P/E is 6.49 and the company’s dividend yield is 3.70%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $8.78-$20.70, and at today’s price that’s about 25% above the 52-week low and 47% below the 52-week high. Like Nucor, Steel Dynamics revised EPS expectations downward last month by at least a third compared with analysts expectations.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) has a median target price of $77.00 from 16 brokers. Shares are trading today at $63.24, for an implied gain of $13.76, or 17.9%. Newmont’s forward P/E is 10.2 and the company’s dividend yield is 1.9%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $50.05-$71.25, and at today’s price that’s about 26% above the 52-week low and 11% below the 52-week high. Newmont is the largest gold miner in the world and its dividend yield is also the highest among the miners. The company has committed to raising dividends if certain gold price targets are hit, making life even tougher for competitors.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) has a median price target of $66.50 from 20 brokers. Shares traded today at $46.93, for an implied gain of $19.57, or 29.4%. Barrick’s forward P/E is 7.67 and the company’s dividend yield is 1%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $42.50-$55.95, and at today’s price that’s about 10% above the 52-week low and 16% below the 52-week high. Gold mining stocks have not been able to keep up with the rising price of gold mainly because the miners’ costs keep rising even as gold prices rise. Barrick is one of the lowest cost producers among the big gold mining companies, and that’s a real positive for the company.

24/7 Wall St. has compiled detailed earnings previews for the following companies: Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS); Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA); ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN); Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST); Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY); and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

Some of these companies will not really seem on the surface to be sector-movers or market-moving companies, but these have been selected because they are the first ones of their peer groups to be reporting earnings. 

We have created a detailed earnings preview for each with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each for investors to see what exactly is worth consideration this earnings season.  We have also added in recent price history and named where to look for additonal action (or fallout).

Monday, October 10

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is the first chip equipment player to report for this earnings season.  it has been a few weeks since we have had earnings reports or guidance in the sector so we will be paying close attention since so many companies that are chip equipment customers have talked down their numbers in recent weeks.  Our belief is that expectations are very low for the quarter ahead. Estimates are $0.68 EPS and $311.9 million in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $278.5 million in revenue.  With shares hovering around $30.00 on Friday, the 52-week range is $25.26 to $41.82 and shares were above $36 in early July.  After Novellus reports, we would be watching the following: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX).

Tuesday, October 11

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has already talked down aluminum prices and we have already seen slowing demand out of China talked about by many sectors.  Alcoa keeps maintaining that it can double its business by 2020 and we do not expect that to be changed by management even if it guides lower expectations ahead.  Estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.24 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.11 billion in revenue. At $9.80 on Friday, the 52-week range is $8.45 to $19.47 and this one was above $16 at the start of July.  There are many metals stocks to watch, some in aluminum and some in other metals: Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS); Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU); Titanium Metals Corporation (NYSE: TIE); and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE).

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks; Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Elan Corporation (NYSE: ELN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Outperform at Baird.
NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. (NASDAQ: SANM) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
VIVIUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Reiterated Buy and $9 target at BofA/ML.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Forward PE multiples range from 6.7 to almost 12 and the return on equity (ROE) is as low as 3.6% to as high as 18.5%.  Five of these companies boast ROE’s greater than 8.5%.  Analysts estimate next year’s earnings will range from a 15% year-over-year increase to an increase of about 60%.  Most of these companies are expected to post an increase in next year’s earnings above 30%. Consensus target prices from analysts indicate that each of these have above-market upside from Thomson Reuters, with most looking to be above 20%.  Most of these companies also show a price to book ratio of 2.4 to 1 or lower.  Except where otherwise noted our source for all financial and performance data is Finviz.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is the largest of these companies with a market cap of $17.3 billion.  This is also one of our freshly featured “Top Stocks That Will Set Market Trends For This Summer” as it leads off in earnings season this coming week.  Its price to book ratio is 1.17 to 1, best of the lot.  With a consensus target price of $19.67 the shares have an implied greater than 20%.  Alcoa shares recently traded at $16.49 and its 52-week trading range is $9.86 to $18.44.  We do not expect this to occur, but we do have to admit that this was considered a loose takeover candidate in the recent past.  It also hit $40.00 before the recession.  Alcoa offers a very unexciting dividend of about 0.7%.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) may seem an odd fit in our base metals screen, but that is because of its metallurgical coal operations that feed the steel industry.  Technically it does actually lead the rest of our screened companies in three of our financial measures: forward P/E, analysts’ implied price upside, and analysts’ estimated earnings growth.  The reason or explanation may simply be because many estimates have not properly adjusted since its International Coal acquisition.  Our review was on a standalone basis and we always want to point out that estimates and projections can often lag by a quarter when M&A is in the mix.  The company’s forward price to earnings multiple is less than 7 as analysts see next year’s earnings growth of about 60%.  Again, consider the merger.  With a consensus target price of $39.28, the shares have an implied upside of more than 40%.  Arch Coal shares recently traded at $27.34 and its 52-week price range is $19.03 to $36.86.  After the acquisition was completed, S&P affirned a “BB-” corporate credit rating.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is second best among these companies with a low price to book ratio of 1.26 to 1.  It also trades at less than 9-times 2012 projected earnings from Thomson Reuters consensus data.  Unfortunately, Century is stingy when it comes to dividends.  Its $1.48 billion market cap makes Century the smallest of these companies.  Its consensus target price of $19.75 implies an upside greater than 24%.  The company’s shares recently traded at $15.87 and the 52-week trading range is $8.57 to $20.76.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) has a market cap of $13 billion making it the second largest company in this lot.  The manufacturing and sales company of steel and steel products actually has an unimpressive 3.6% return on equity (ROE) per the Finviz screen, which, if entirely accurate, screened out as the lowest among these companies.  It also pays a 3.6% dividend yield.  With a consensus target price of $50.38, the shares still have an implied upside of 23%.  Nucor shares recently traded at $40.82.  The 52-week price range is $34.48 to $48.40.  While it trades at 15.6-times 2011 earnings estimates, the multiple drops down to under 11-times the 2012 earnings estimates.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) is in an interesting place since it recently gave earnings and offered guidance which was technically a bit light.  Still, shares have recovered about 10% since its report and it seems that the valuations may be a part of the “why” that recovery has been seen.  The steel products operator has a price to book ratio of 1.62 to 1, third best among these companies.  With a consensus target price of $21.83, the shares have an implied upside of 34%.  That is actually the second highest among these companies. Shares of Steel Dynamics recently traded at $16.25.  The 52-week price range is $12.92 to $20.45. Steel Dynamics also pays a 2.5% dividend yield.

Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) is one of the smaller companies with a market cap of just under $1.7 billion.  It also leads these companies with a 16.4% return on equity (ROE).  It also trades at about 13-times next year’s projected earnings.  With a consensus target price of $26 the shares of this metals processor have an implied upside of 12% to the consensus price target.  Worthington shares recently traded at $23.22.  The 52-week price range is $12.00 to $23.75.  Worthington’s dividend yield measures today at about 2.1%.

Having the term “value” does not imply immediate gains nor does it imply that there are no risks.  The market has also just recently enjoyed a great bounce.  When it comes to M&A and it when it comes to long-term investing it is the value segment that often outperforms the market and which can hold up better if and when the markets head south again. Earnings season is about to be underway and many of these figures may change in the coming weeks.

JON C. OGG

While most “book value” companies are trading at discounts for a reason, we only focused on the basic materials players which may actually grow through these uncertain times.  Each company offers an implied earnings growth scenario.  For next year, analysts expect healthy earnings growth ranging from Alcoa’s 14% to Arch Coal’s 56%.  We also only took companies that have lower price-to-earnings ratios ahead as well to filter out the companies in trouble.  Average trading volume for each of these companies exceeds one million shares daily.

We would also note that each of these shares is currently lower than the prior day’s close due to the global selling that has been seen.  That changes things only marginally, and value investors may get to see yet even more value as a result.  Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) boasts a price to book value of roughly 1.1, clearly best among this list of companies.  Its market cap is $16.4 billion.  Its forward P/E is 9.6.  Analysts look for next year’s earnings to top current year net by 14%. With a Thomson Reuters consensus target price of $19.95 per share, Alcoa has an implied upside of close to 30%.  In trading Wednesday, Alcoa’s shares closed at $15.29, down 0.52%.  The 52-week trading range is $9.73 to $18.44.

Here is what investors need to consider about Alcoa.  Investors always try to use this company as the first read each earnings season to make a determination about companies in general but they also use it to analyze the entire metals sector.  Alcoa has telegraphed growth and recovery ahead, even if it has a spotty record around earnings.  Alcoa has also been called a takeover target by some investment watchers. Alcoa peaked around $45.00 back in 2007 before the recession.

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is tricky because it recently closed upon its acquisition of International Coal.  That throws a wrench in the machine, but we still wanted to show what the core company value is.  Arch sports a price to book ratio of roughly 1.9 and its market cap is $5.5 billion.  Its forward PE is less than 7, ranking it the best in this list of companies.  Analysts expect next year’s earnings to exceed current year earnings by more than 55%, the best expected earnings expansion among these six companies. Again, keep in mind that analysts often are extremely late to the party when it comes to interpolating other earnings into a merger mix.

With a Thomson Reuters consensus target price of $39.76, Arch Coal has an implied upside of more than 50%.  In Wednesday trading, Arch Coal’s shares closed at $25.84, down 0.69%. The 52-week price range is $18.81 to $36.86.  The merger will undoubtedly change the values and the outlook ahead and it is possible that the value here may change since the aggregate value of the merger was about $3.4 billion.  We still wanted to show this as the cheap buyer.

Rare earths darling Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) has acquired an Arizona processor of rare earth alloys and metals for $17.5 million. Earlier this month Molycorp spent $89 million to acquire a European rare earths processor.

The most interesting news about the latest Molycorp acquisition is its plan to begin immediately shipping rare earth feedstock from its California mine to the Arizona facility for processing. Molycorp has long said that it would begin production before the end of 2011, but this is a lot earlier than anyone expected. The company is probably shipping ore from stockpiles, and likely has been for a while, but now Molycorp will begin to capture the profits at a higher level on the value chain.

Other rare earth miners Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) and Avalon Rare Metals, Inc. (AMEX: AVL) cannot afford to keep pace with Molycorp’s acquisitions nor will they be able to begin production as soon as Molycorp. Whenever Molycorp does a deal, it bashes the other stocks. When there’s news affecting rare earths in general, the other stocks benefit — and really for no good reason other than they have a stake in the ground on a rare earths play. The Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (NYSE: REMX) down more than -3% today, to $27.06, in a 52-week range of $19.25-$28.91.

The World Steel Association expects steel consumption to rise by 5.9% in 2011, to 1,359 million metric tons, less than half the 13.2% growth in 2010. The group expects demand to rise another 6% in 2012, to 1,441 million metric tons.

The outlook is promising for steel producers ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS), Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI), United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), and Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE). Goldman Sachs upgraded ArcelorMittal from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ today, and either maintained or downgraded three other European steel makers.

Demand from China is expected to be about 605 million metric tons in 2011, almost 45% of the worldwide total. Much of that will come from Chinese producers.

Wheat prices both in Chicago and Kansas City are up more than 4% today as traders are now worried about the European wheat crop. A lack of rain in the north is expected to continue for at least another week.

Gold prices have reached another record high above $1,498/ounce, helped by a change in the outlook for US debt from ‘stable’ to ‘negative.’ Silver prices topped $43.50/ounce, but have come back below $43/ounce late in the day. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) is up to $145.58 after having set a new 52-week high of $146.07. The iShares Siver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is off fractionally late in the day, at $41.83, after also posting a new 52-week high earlier of $42.50.

Paul Ausick

AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) Reiterated Buy and $83 target at BofA/ML.
Capella Education Co. (NASDAQ: CPLA) maintained Underperform and as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
The Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) Reiterated Outperform and $70 target at Credit Suisse.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) Reiterated Buy and $54 target at Argus.
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday call).
Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday call).
Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS) Reiterated Buy with $55 target at BofA/ML.

In a sector call, BofA/ML is raising estimates on earnings and orders for the first half of 2011 in DR Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), and Ryland Group Inc. (NYSE: RYL).  The firm maintained Buy ratings on each based on strong entry level buyers being active in the Spring.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG